Wall St was down 94 overnight, its biggest fall in a month, while the local market is down 66.
Camden: a tale of cowardice and mortgage belt bigots
|
Some thoughts on the shameful collusion between cowardly politicians, the craven media and mortgage belt bigots to stop the building of a Muslim school at Camden on the outskirts of Sydney. In 1867, a mentally deranged man named O’Farrell fired a shot at the Duke of Edinburgh during a royal visit to Sydney. The assassination attempt caused a wave of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic bigotry across the 80-year-old British penal colony. In his book, Life and Progress in Australasia, published in 1898, British MP Michael Davitt wrote:
Parkes paid for a spy to be placed in O’Farrell’s cell to take down further alarmist ravings from the condemned man. “On the strength of these concocted tales of plots to murder the Royal Family and others, he (Parkes) and a renegade Irish Catholic succeeded in passing a treason-felony bill for NSW, which, among other provisions, proposed to imprison anyone who should refuse to drink the Queen’s health!” Any similarities with the lynch mob politics at Camden overnight are simply a matter of history. So where is Premier and Minister for Citizenship Morris Iemma, MP for Lakemba which has one of the highest number of Muslim residents in NSW? Where is Planning Minister Frank Sartor, another high achiever from a migrant Italian family? Will he use his powers to declare the school of “state significance” and approve it as he has done with so many other controversial developments? What of Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, who has benefited from huge federal and state hand-outs to fund Catholic schools and the World Youth Day? Perhaps some spiritual guidance? And what of The Great Mandarin-speaking Helmsman Himself, Kevin Rudd, or is he too busy with an art-burning project flowing from his 2020 summit? Oh, and by the way, we know where the Rev Fred Nile is: the upper house MP and leader of the Christian Democrats is leading a campaign to stop new Muslim schools in Sydney and for a 10-year ban on all Muslim immigration. However, he recently welcomed messianic Israeli Eliyahu Ben Haim to parliament house to showcase the DVD Praying through the land which “assists Christians throughout the world to become aware of the specific prayer needs of the Messianic community in Israel”. In one sense, last night’s unanimous council vote, accompanied by the delirious cheers of the local burghers, confirms Camden’s place in the nation’s European history. In 1803, sheep entrepreneur John Macarthur was given 5,000 acres to raise sheep there, resulting in the dispossession of the Aborigines and their eventually wiping out. In recent years, Lady (Mary) Fairfax won approval to rezone her late husband’s sweeping estate at Camden’s Harrington Park and turn it into residential homes for hundreds of settlers from the crowded city. It was a nice deal: she is reputed to have made several hundred million dollars. Today’s commercial radio talkback was crackling with the “good news” that Camden had been “saved”. Nice to know that after an uplifting interlude when John Howard was turfed out of office, the nation is back on track, and the Labor Party is ruling from east coast to west coast and from north to south. |
|
|
15 Comments
The hatred and viciousness and irrational statements spewing from people interviewed by various media outlets in this matter should make every Australian hang their head. I was horrified that such hatred was unmasked in people who would think of themselves as ordinary Australians. The wearing of the Australian flag does not make a patriot!!!
In an article critical of a council development decision there is no critical discourse on the council’s decision.
Are we becoming medieval again? Are we sliding back into some dark age? We must not allow the creation of enclaves/ghettos and generational reinforcement by religious schooling (child abuse). Do we want to be Londonistan? Tear down or deny permission to any school that does not offer exposure to other Truths.
Not to ruin the diatribe but one may want to check their facts before working oneself up into a lather.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23772006-5001028,00.html
..though of course such action would require a caveat: ‘May impinge upon one’s intended dramatic impact and validity of argument’
What a crock. Camden has a long history of fighting off inappropriate developments (McDonald’s was recently driven away a second time). Why should the planning bar be lowered because of the religion of the school’s proponents? There’d be an outcry if an Anglican or secular school with similarly disgraceful environmental credentials was allowed to slip past regulations due to pressure from special interest lobbies.
As Waleed Aly commented this week, most people in Camden (as the rest of the Sydney) are tolerant and indifferent to the religious background of the school, with minority pockets of prejudice being sought out by the cameras. Last I checked the loud woman with the Akubra wasn’t the Mayor of Camden, or any sort of representative of the community.
I expected Crikey to be a little warier of the mainstream media taking the Cronulla Part II racist angle. Serious development concerns aren’t sexy enough to sell papers.
Mayor of Camden explained the planning reasons for non-approval : traffic conjgestion on busy road; busy intersection; chemical contamination of site amongst others. Also, he said the group is welcome to submit an application to construct the school at any of the 60 sites zoned/ assessed as suitable by the Council for school sites to meet expected growth in the area.
Nevertheless , the behaviour of the lynch mob at the announcement of the non-approval was appalling.
Alex Mitchell,
It is you, who is the bigot. Your offensive name calling, proves how ignorant you are.
You are not fit to comment on an issue you know nothing of.
The Quranic Society bought the school site without consulting Council about its suitability and was told by Council after the purchase, it was unsuitable for their proposal.
The school site was rejected by Camden High Public when it was forced to re-locate. If its not fit for a public school, its not fit for any school.
All Government Departments that were required to comment on the development proposal, opposed it.
Council staff assessed this development as been unsuited for this site and recommended its refusal on those grounds.
Councillors had no other option but to reject it 9:nil on planning and development grounds.
Where is the problem? Why the name calling and abuse? Your invective is offensive .
It shows you are as bigoted as the worst of the Camden poeple, who are a minority and certainly don’t get paid a salary for their bigotry.
You are saying, Muslims should get preferential treatment in development issues. You are saying, they do not have to meet the normal planning and development standards that everyone else has to.
This amounts to corruption. You are endorsing and expecting Camden people to allow unfit development into their community because of your support for a religious minority.
Camden has knocked back Mc Donalds twice in the last 10 years. That doesn’t make us anti-American. But with your logic, that makes us rabid communist, democratic hating extremists.
The Quranic Society’s spokesman, Mr. Bingham, continuously said, The Council decision should only be based on planning and development grounds. I didn’t hear Mr. Mitchell complaining about this and now it is rejected on planning and development grounds, we have these continuing ignorant attacks on Camden.
Get off your multicultural high-horse.
No religion or minority, whether christian or Muslim will get preferential treatment in Camden.
If you feel so much for this religious minority, why don’t you lobby to have them in your suburb and see if your suburb will have unfit and oversized development on inapropriate sites.
Your ignorance is highlighted by you expecting politicians to make planning and development decisions, overiding local Councils. This is what happened in Wollongong isn’t it?
I hope this goes to the Land and Environment Court, where it will be soundly rejected. But, will the land and Environment Court be called racists as well. They certainly will by the ignorant and abussive.
Yes,. Get ready Mr. Mitchell, get ready for your lines on how the Land and Environment Court is bigotted and racists. That should make good reading.
The Camden comunity will expect an apology from you after the Land and Environment Court and if its not appealed, it will mean no legal firm will risk their good name trying to defend the indefencable.
There is an old Camden saying. The louder the name calling, the less they know about anything!
Education of Muslim Children
London School of Islamics is an educational Trust. Its aim is to make
British public, institutions and media aware of the needs and demands of the
Muslim community in the field of education and possible solutions.
Today in Slough Islamic school Trust Slough had a seminar on Muslim
education and schools in Thames Valley Atheltic Centre. The seminar was
addressed by the education spokesman of MCB. I could not attend the seminar
but I believe lot of Muslims from Slough and surrounding areas must have
attended. Very soon, the Muslims of Slough will have a state funded Muslim
school but there is a need for more schools. A day will come when all Muslim
children will attend state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim
teachers as role model.
Muslim schools are not only faith schools but they are more or less
bilingual schools.
Bilingual Muslim children need to learn standard English to follow the
National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve
humanity. They need to be well versed in Arabic to recite and understand the
Holy Quran. They need to be well versed in Urdu and other community
languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of
their literature and poetry.
Bilingualism is an asset but the British schooling regards it as a
problem. A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not
want to become notoriously monolingual Brit. Pakistan is only seven hours
from London and majority of British Muslims are from Pakistan.
More than third of British Muslim have no qualifications. British school
system has been failing large number of Muslims children for the last 60
years. Muslim scholars see the pursuit of knowledge as a duty, with the
Quran containing several verses to the rewards of learning. 33% of British
Muslims of working age have no qualifications and Muslims are also the least
likely to have degrees or equivalent qualifications. Most of estimated
500,000 Muslim school-aged pupils in England and Wales are educated in the
state system with non-Muslim monolingual teachers. Majority of them are
underachievers because they are at a wrong place at a wrong time.
Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual
Muslim teachers during their developmental periods. There is no place for a
non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. As far as higher education
is concerned, Muslim students can be educated with others. Let Muslim
community educate its own children so that they can develop their own
Islamic, cultural and linguistic identities and become usefull members of
the British society rather than becoming a buden.
We are living in an English speaking country and English is an
international language, therefore, we want our children to learn and be well
versed in standard English and at the same time well versed in Arabic, Urdu
and other community languages. Is there anything wrong with this approach?
It is not only the Muslim community who would like to send their children to
Muslim school. Sikh and Hindu communities have started setting up their
schools. Last week. British Black Community has planned the first all black
school with Black teachers in Birmingham.
Scotland’s first state funded Muslim school could get the go-ahead within
months after First Munister Alex Salmond declared he was sympathetic towards
the needs and demands of the Muslim community.
Iftikhar Ahmad
London School of Islamics Trust
Apparently the Camden Muslim school was knocked back for Planning reasons. I wonder if ‘Planning’ would have knocked back a Private ‘Christian’ School charging entry fees of $20k a year. The complete silence from the ALP is pathetic.
So now Alex Mitchell has added town planning to his area of expertise? I don’t know whether the Councillors were motivated by race or religion in not approving the DA to build a school, but I am sure Alex doesn’t know either. From news reports, it seems that the applicant has failed to supply further information requested by Council in relation to contamination of the site. Imagine the outcry in 20 years time if a cancer cluster emerges there. Poor old Council can’t win on this one. Seems Alex would have the Council approve the development, contrary to the recommendation of its own (expert) officers, just to prove its not racist. But on that basis, wouldn’t that make it racist?
Hold up there Tony, Alex is a veteran state political reporter and yes he would know defacto alot about town planning issues as most in politics do, not least developer donation issues to get that extra floor, or law changes to gazump the L&E Court. He is qualified to at least have a view. There’s been alot of Big Media on this debate since before the federal election in Pat Farmer’s seat of Macarthur no less. Just next door to Lindsay. Stateline NSW have also reported some unvarnished hatred, not just one bigot in a big hat last night on tv, so the question is definitely on the table, best to face up to it. Maybe these bigots are outside influences too? One does notice it’s very wasp-ish in the media coverage. I tend to agree that a unanimous decision looks like some strong planning grounds to go against unpopular proposal. Balanced against this is straight out weak kneed populism. Like many controversial development proposals it will be interesting to see how the court compares with the council findings on what looks like a green field site on tv. Good to see Pell talking up religious freedom.
I do not know about comments from Sartor or Iemma, but George Pell has commented, and prior to today’s newletter. See http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23772236-2702,00.html
which was reported in the Australian Breaking News this morning.
Maybe Crikey should keep an eye on Breaking News?
I object to the school because I have reservations about faith schools in Muslim communities. I think Muslim community organisations are establisghing faith schools to make money, not to assist young people. We are a community at least 50% of whom are aged under 40 and are Australian-born. Yet our institutions (including the Quranic Society) are run by middle-aged migrant men with stuff-all English language skills and extremely poor PR skills. And who know next to nothing about what it’s like to grow up in Australia.
If these so-called leaders really gave a stuff about young Muslims, they would focus their time and effort on the 90% of Muslim kids who would never set foot in an Muslim independent school. But there’s no easy money in that. Little wonder so many Muslim kids end up hanging out with fringe thick sheiks.
Alex Mitchell…when was the last time you visited Camden? Probably a long time ago, if ever. Which ever way you look at it, our unfettered immigration policy is NOT doing this country good. Oh, that is so not PC to say so. …(I can hear the leftie outcry) I couldn’t give a stuff. Just look at France if you wish to see Australia in 10-15 years time. Not a pretty picture. Religious freedom I hear? Watch the country and our community go downhill.
(or subscriptions, for that matter)